Handgun concealing pouch

ABSTRACT

A POUCH INCLUDES A SLIT FORMED IN A CENTRAL SIDE PORTION THROUGH WHICH A PERSON MAY PASS HIS TRIGGER FINGER TO FIRE A HANDGUN CONCEALED IN THE POUCH.   D R A W I N G

March 13, H c MCDONALD HANDGUN CONCEALING POUCH Filed April 25, 1971INVENTOR. HUGH C. MCDONALD United States Patent 3,720,613 Patented Mar.13, 1973 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A pouch includes a slitformed in a central side portion through which a person may pass histrigger finger to fire a handgun concealed in the pouch.

This invention relates to a novel pouch structure for concealing ahandgun.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION It is ordinarily not possible for policeofiicers and other law enforcement personnel to carry a handgun in theirhand ready for use at all times. Rather, the custom is for a policeofiicer to keep the gun in its holster or for the other type of lawenforcement officers such as detectives and investigators to keep thegun concealed some place in their clothing. These requirements areobvious since the public would not stand for a situation in which policeofiicers or detectives were constantly carrying loaded guns around intheir hands.

There are many situations however, in which it would be desirable for apoliceman or detective to have in his hands a gun ready for instantfiring. When confronted with emergency situations, the time taken for apolice ofiicer to extract his gun from a holster or for a detective tobring into play a concealed gun can mean the difference between life anddeath. If there could be devised some means whereby a policeman orplainclothesman in a given situation could have a gun in his hand readyfor firing and yet other parties present not be aware of the presence ofsuch gun, a great advantage would be afiorded to the oificer in dealingwith emergency situations.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION With the foregoing in mind,it is the primary object of the present invention to provide a simplehandgun concealing pouch which will enable an ofiicer or plainclothesmanto have essentially a gun in hand ready for firing without anyone elsewith whom the otficer or plainclothesman might be dealing knowing of thepresence of such gun.

Briefly, the invention contemplates the provision of a pouch about thesize of a hand purse or tobacco pouch so designed as to enable a gun tobe concealed therein and yet be fired while concealed in the pouch.Towards this latter end, one side of the pouch includes a slit in thepreferred embodiment of the invention through which the user may passhis trigger finger to efiect firing of the gun while the same is whollyconcealed within the pouch.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A better understanding of theinvention will be had by new referring to a preferred embodiment asillustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a typical handgun as might be used by detectives andother law enforcement oflicials preparatory to being concealed in thepouch of the present invention shown positioned below the gun; and

FIG. 2 shows the manner in which the gun is actually fired whileconcealed in the pouch of 'FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIG. 1,there is provided a flexible material 10 forming first and secondsubstantially rectangular sides 11 and 12 placed together and connectedalong adjacent front, bottom and rear edges as indicated at 13a, 13b and130. The structure described defines a pouch having an upper openingbetween its upper edges as indicated at .14. Preferably, a zipper 15 isprovided for closing this opening.

It will be noted that the zipper closes the opening by moving from theupper rear corner towards the upper front corner of the pouch therebeing provided a rigid pull tab 16. This rigid pull tab 16 alwaysremains in an upright position and serves a dual function of enablingthe zipper to be operated and also serving as a front sight when thezipper is completely closed. A stop member 17 disposed at the upper rearportion of the pouch functions as a stop for the pull tab 16 when thezipper is completely open and also serves the purpose of a rear sight.

In the central portion of the first side 11 of the pouch, there isprovided a slit 18. Also provided are small openings 19 serving as gasescape ports along the upper front portions of the sides 11 and 12.

The pouch described in F-IG. 1 is dimensioned to receive a handgun 20shown above the pouch in FIG. 1. This handgun may typically comprise asnub-nosed .38 caliber revolver. However, it should be understood thatother types of handguns may readily be used with theinvention, the sizeof the pouch being adjusted accordingly.

FIG. 2 shows in dotted lines the gun 20 wholly concealed within thepouch material 10, the zipper being in completely closed position. Itwill be noted that the slit 18 is positioned such that a person holdingthe pouch may readily insert his trigger finger through the slit toengage the trigger of the gun 20 and thus enable firing of the same.

In FIG. 2, there is indicated at 21 a bullet hole in the pouch as aconsequence of firing the gun while the same is concealed in the pouch.

OPERATION In operation, assume that a detective or other plainclothesmanis about to enter a room for a meeting with suspected killers. Thedetective would first conceal his .38 revolver in the pouch of FIG. 1and then simply walk into the room holding the pouch. The appearance ofthe pouch is that of a conventional tobacco pouch or possibly a smallhand purse or even small covered notebook as might typically be carriedby a person preparatory to a conference with other persons.

If the suspected killers with whom the detective is meeting conductthemselves properly and do not make any suspicious moves the detectivecan carry on his meeting in a normal fashion without arousing anysuspicion as a consequence of carrying the pouch. On the other hand,should one of the killers have a gun or make a move towards withdrawinga gun to shoot the detective, the detective already having the pouch inhand can very quickly fire his concealed revolver at the suspect andthereby save his own life.

In the event the suspect is at some distance, or is perhaps fleeing fromthe scene, the front and rear sights provided by the zipper pull tab 16and stop member 17 can be utilized to advantage in enabling thedetective to take careful aim while firing the gun within the pouch.

The small gas ports 19 serve to permit gas expelled from the gun toreadily escape from the pouch.

The material of the pouch is preferably thin and highly flexible so thatthe detective or other law enforcement ofiicer has a good feel of theconcealed gun within the pouch. Further, such flexibility renders easierthe firing of the gun while concealed within the pouch. Finally, thematerial itself as well as being flexible preferably is characterized bya high kindling temperature preferably in excess of 500 F Thisparticular feature for the material will prevent accidental catching onfire of the pouch after firing of the gun.

From the foregoing description, it will be evident that the presentinvention has provided an extremely useful and simple device for use bylaw enforcement officers which greatly increases the chances of safelyapprehending dangerous criminals in those instances in which a shoot outis likely to result.

What is claimed is:

1. A handgun concealing pouch comprising: a flexible material formingfirst and second substantially rectangular sides placed together andconnected along adjacent front, bottom, and rear edges to define a pouchhaving an upper opening between the upper edges; and a zipper secured tosaid upper edges for closing said opening, the first rectangular side ofsaid pouch having a slit in its central portion positioned such thatwhen a handgun is received through the upper opening in said pouch, itstrigger is adjacent to said slit whereby said handgun can be firedinside said pouch by a person holding said pouch and passing his triggerfinger through said slit to operate said trigger.

2. A pouch according to claim 1, in which said zipper includes a rigidpull tab in an upright position, said zipper closing said upper openingby moving said pull tab from the upper rear corner of said pouch to theupper front corner, said pull tab then serving as a front sight for saidgun when said gun is concealed within said pouch and fired.

3. A pouch according to claim 2, including a rigid stop member at theupper rear corner of said pouch for said pull tab, said stop memberserving as a rear sight.

4. A pouch according to claim 1, including small openings formed in theupper front portions of each of said sides to serve as gas escape portswhen said gun is fired.

5. A pouch according to claim 1, in which said material has a kindlingtemperature in excess of 5 00 F.

6. A handgun concealing pouch comprising: a flexible material formingfirst and second sides placed together and connected along adjacentfront, bottom, and rear edges to define a pouch having an upper openingbetween the edges; and a fastening means secured to said upper edges forclosing said opening, the first side of the said pouch having a slit inits central portion positioned such that when a handgun is receivedthrough the upper opening in said pouch, its trigger is adjacent to saidslit whereby said handgun can be fired inside said pouch by a personholding said pouch and passing his finger through said slit to operatesaid trigger.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,090,393 3/1914 Goldstein 42-1 R1,585,394 5/1926 Lawrence 421 R 1,934,732 11/1933 Nahm et al. 42--1 R2,457,755 12/1948 Ugazio et al. 42-1 Y BENJAMIN A. BORCHE-LT, PrimaryExaminer C. T. JORDAN, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 42-1 J

